Week 16 brought serious offensive output courtesy of solid quarterback play. Joe Burrow, Sam Darnold, and Jared Goff led the league. We are a mere two weeks away from the playoffs, and the power rankings are starting to take real shape.
The final two weeks of the season should bring more electric play. Several teams are playing for their playoff lives. Their fates will rest in the hands of their signal callers. Even the elite teams need their quarterbacks to stay consistent to end up going to the promised land.
With the league tightening up and everything right in front of us, we must again rank each quarterback from one to 32. Let's dive in and see where everyone is as we head into the season's stretch run.
Josh Allen was quiet in Week 16. He only threw for 154 yards and a touchdown as the Bills rode the ground game to victory. Allen was dealing with an elbow injury that caused him to lose feeling in his hand at some point. This performance is very excusable and Allen is going to be fine.
Lamar Jackson did his best to make a large push for the NFL MVP in Week 16. Jackson silenced the haters and torched the Pittsburgh Steelers for three touchdown passes. The Ravens remained alive in their division and punched their ticket to the playoffs.
Joe Burrow threw three touchdowns once again. The Bengals cruised to an easy victory over the lowly Browns. The win keeps the Bengals' narrow playoff hopes alive. Burrow is reminding the league that he is still an incredible quarterback.
What a performance from Jared Goff. He was locked in all game long against the Bears in Week 16. While he may not be a serious MVP contender, Goff is certainly in the discussion of players worthy of the award. The Lions keep marching on.
What ankle injury? Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a convincing victory over the Texans in Week 16. Mahomes was bowling over defenders and running around with no regard for the health of his injured ankle. One more victory and this team will wrap up the No. 1 seed.
Jalen Hurts left Week 16 against the Commanders with a concussion. He was leading a serious charge prior to the injury. However, he was visibly shaken up after a first-half scramble. The Eagles will need Hurts back in the lineup because things did not look good with Kenny Pickett at the helm.
Jordan Love and the Packers continue to roll their way to victory. They dominated the Saints in Week 16, but it is the running game that continues to steal the show. Love only threw one touchdown pass and was simply not needed. The Packers face a tougher task in Week 17 against the Vikings.
Jayden Daniels put in a Herculean effort to bring the Commanders back against the Eagles in Week 16. He threw five touchdown passes and was the first Commander to do so since Mark Rypien was the quarterback. This kid is unbelievable.
Sam Darnold continues to make highlight-worthy plays. His go-ahead touchdown to wide receiver Justin Jefferson was very Patrick Mahomes-esque. If this is the true version of Darnold, the Vikings could make a lot of noise in the playoffs this season.
Tua Tagovialoa and the Dolphins continue to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Tagovailoa has been solid all around lately and continues to lead this team to victories. A convincing win over the 49ers in Week 16 was a great way to continue Miami's recent momentum.
Matthew Stafford was incredibly quiet in Week 16. He threw one touchdown and the Rams only scored 19 points. Still, a win is a win in the NFL and the Rams continue to control their own destiny.
Russell Wilson committed two unfortunate turnovers in Week 16 that sunk the Steelers against the Ravens. A fumble at the goal line completely changed the game. The Steelers now have some work to do to ensure they lock up their division.
Justin Herbert is not human. Amidst various ailments this season he has continued to make unbelievable throw after unbelievable throw. The Chargers grabbed a massive victory over the Broncos in Week 16 as a result of Herbert's greatness.
Baker Mayfield threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16. He made an incredible effort to keep a play alive in the fourth quarter only to have running back Rachaad White fumble away the Buccaneers' chances of winning the game. Mayfield's magic will be the key to the Buccaneers' playoff hopes.
Interceptions from Brock Purdy continue to flow. Purdy has simply not looked like the MVP-candidate we saw in 2023. Without the high-end crew of weapons and protection Purdy had last season, we are seeing a few weaknesses. He is undeniably good, but the 49ers need to retool around him next season.
Bo Nix had a nice game in Week 16 tossing two touchdowns with no interceptions. His efforts were not enough for the Broncos to emerge victorious over a solid Chargers team. The AFC Wild Card seeding is getting very interesting with so many teams so close in the standings.
C.J. Stroud played poorly once again in Week 16. The second-year quarterback threw two interceptions and lost another weapon with wide receiver Tank Dell suffering a knee injury. Things are not trending up for Stroud at this point in the season.
Geno Smith continues to throw untimely interceptions this season. He threw two in Week 16. That included one that ended all hopes of a Seattle comeback against the Vikings. The Seahawks will truly only go as far as Smith will take them. Over the last couple of seasons, Smith has proven that he may not be able to lead this team to new heights.
Kyler Murray started slow in Week 16, but he did his best to bring the Cardinals back against the Panthers. The Cardinals would ultimately be bested by the Panthers and were eliminated from playoff contention. Murray will now try to lead this team to the postseason in 2025.
Cooper Rush continues to show the league that he is a solid backup quarterback. Rush threw for 292 yards and a touchdown in an efficient win over the Buccaneers on Sunday night. At least the Cowboys know that whenever Dak Prescott is out, things can stay afloat in Dallas.
Caleb Williams was relatively solid in Week 16. The Bears got off to another slow start, but Williams turned things around in the second half and threw a pair of touchdowns. Despite the losing streak, Williams has still flashed some nice moments. Now he needs to be consistent.
Bryce Young and the Panthers got the job done against the Cardinals in Week 16. Young looked confident and poised throughout the game. He made plenty of highlight worthy plays. He is playing his way into another year at the helm.
Josh Allen was quiet in Week 16. He only threw for 154 yards and a touchdown as the Bills rode the ground game to victory. Allen was dealing with an elbow injury that caused him to lose feeling in his hand at some point. This performance is very excusable and Allen is going to be fine.
Drake Maye looked poised and ready for the moment in the face of a tall task against the Bills on Sunday. He threw another interception, but he is making incredible throws in the face of incoming defenders. Maye's future continues to look bright.
Michael Penix Jr. was solid in his NFL debut. He threw an interception that was the result of a drop. He was relatively inefficient but he made several excellent throws that displayed his talent. He looked confident and led the Falcons to a dominating victory.
Anthony Richardson's passing output was lackluster in Week 16. Then again, he only threw the ball 11 times. However, Richardson made several throws that were head turning. He was also dominant on the ground running for 70 yards and a touchdown. Turns out leaning on the running game plays to Richardson's strengths.
Aaron Rodgers took a step back in Week 16 relative to how he had been playing over the last couple of weeks. He had a bad fumble and missed several throws. Perhaps the solid play recently was a mirage.
Aidan O'Connell makes the Raiders offense look competent. He did not throw any touchdowns against the Jaguars in Week 16, but O'Connell threw for 257 yards and led the Raiders to victory. O'Connell may be given a chance to compete for the starting job in 2025.
Mac Jones looked like the rookie version of himself in Week 16. That's a good thing. He found wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. all day and was poised in the pocket. He even made a couple plays outside of the pocket. Still, it remains to be seen what the Jaguars will do with Jones going into next season.
Mason Rudolph has retaken the reins of the offense with Will Levis being sent to the bench. Rudolph figures to hold the job through the end of the season and the Titans' offense is likely to be better because of it. This has effectively become an audition for the pending free agent.
Drew Lock was overmatched by the Falcons in Week 16. He committed three turnovers and two of them were returned for touchdowns. Lock and the rotating covey of Giants quarterbacks this season have demonstrated that it is going to be difficult to succeed in this offense no matter who is under center.
Spencer Rattler had a tough game in Week 16. The Packers limited him to 50% passing and they forced an interception. Rattler seems to be in position to continue to start as the year winds down. He will need to prove that he can be the Saints' backup quarterback moving forward.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson was not good in Week 16. He got off to a solid start but he crumbled in the second half. DTR turned the ball over three times and the Browns only scored six points.